


Whumptober 2019 - 20 - Trembling

by OllieCollie



Series: Whumptober 2019 [20]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Banter, Chills, Gen, Magnum is a bad patient, Sickness, Whump, and also dramatic, he's lucky he has such good friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-27 09:42:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21116672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OllieCollie/pseuds/OllieCollie
Summary: When he woke up a few hours later, he'd managed to have developed a splitting headache along with a case of the chills.He didn't check his temperature, because really, he probably was just overreacting. Higgy told him he did that a lot. And if he checked his temp, that was basically admitting he had a fever. Nah, he'd be all right.





	Whumptober 2019 - 20 - Trembling

**Author's Note:**

> Must...finish...strong.  
Whumptober is seriously gonna make me lose my last brain cell. But alas, I am still getting it done (and having fun despite the fact that I'm getting no sleep XD). 
> 
> A lil' tiny bit of fluff thrown in there, too. Enjoy!

Magnum wasn't sick. 

At least, that's what he'd told everyone, himself included. He'd just been feeling a bit under the weather. The fistfight he'd involved himself in earlier that morning hadn't exactly helped matters—a black eye and a couple of bruised ribs were now proudly his to display. But it was fine.  _ He  _ was fine. A case had been wrapped up—now that was something to celebrate. Higgy and the guys had spent the afternoon hanging out. A few beers later, Magnum realized he might not actually be totally fine, because a nap sounded amazing. Although, he reasoned, it really wasn't a big deal. The aforementioned case has taken up a lot of time the past few days, so he hadn't gotten a decent night of rest. That was it. He just needed to sleep.

Except when he woke up a few hours later, he'd managed to have developed a splitting headache along with a case of the chills.  _ Darn it. _

He didn't check his temperature, because really, he probably was just overreacting. Higgy told him he did that a lot. And if he checked his temp, that was basically admitting he had a fever. Nah, he'd be all right.

Thomas stumbled into the kitchen of the guest house. Hopefully he had some pain reliever. He could definitely use that.

He squinted as he searched through the kitchen cabinets. Surely he kept his pain meds somewhere around—he got hurt enough to be taking them regularly. 

By the time Thomas had discovered his stash of pills and dumped out a dose, his head was pounding and he was beginning to shiver harder. Which was silly. He wasn't cold.

Regrettably, the meds didn't help instantly. In fact, he was feeling even worse than before.  _ Stop it, you're fine. _

He needed to lie down again. Thomas managed to find a few blankets and make it to the couch without falling down. He knew it wasn't anything close to cold outside, but he was freezing. Settling under the pile of warm blankets, Magnum felt his shivering die down as warmth seeped into his body, and he sighed contently.

Then he had to shove all the blankets off because he was burning up. He huffed. This wasn't fair. There just didn't seem like there was any position that was comfortable. Not to mention the slightly stuffed-up nose he'd been dealing with the past few days decided now would be a good time to completely prevent him from breathing. Stupid sinuses. Thomas growled in displeasure.

An indeterminate amount of time ticked by. It felt like ages, but in reality was more like fifteen minutes. A soft knock came at the door. Thomas moaned.  _ Maybe if I don't answer, she'll leave me alone.  _ Even if he thought he could clamber to his feet and get to the door without spewing his lunch everywhere, he didn't feel like talking to anyone—much less Higgins. And if Rick and T.C. were still around...no, he didn't want an audience.

"Thomas?" The female voice from outside was slightly muffled through the closed door. "We're all going down to the beach to watch the sunset, would you like to join us?"

Thomas didn't bother to respond to Kumu's question.

The knocking persisted. "Thomas?"

He threw the covers over his head once again. "No thanks, Kumu!" he managed to shout, albeit raspier and quieter than he'd have liked.

He could practically see the woman's face furrowing into a suspicious frown. "Are you all right?" 

"Fine!" he called back, silently hoping she would go and leave him alone. For a minute, he thought his wish may have come true. 

And then the pounding came again at the door. "Open up, T.M.!" This time it was T.C., and he didn't sound like he was willing to take "no" for an answer. So Magnum gave him none at all.

He wasn't sure he had the energy, anyway.

Approximately thirty seconds passed before the door creaked open, and Thomas frowned. He was pretty sure he had locked the door when he'd come back…

"Thomas, are you all right?" Higgins' concerned voice broke through. 

He shoved the blanket away from his face and blinked owlishly at the mini crowd standing around him. "Excuse me," he groused, "but this is where I live, not an open house. I know I'm an unbelievably handsome man to look at, but you can't break into my home just to gawk."

"Actually, this is Mr. Masters' guest home, and none of us are 'gawking' at your looks." Higgins crossed her arms and gave him  _ the _ Look. "You clearly are not as fine as you claimed to be. We just wanted to make sure you were all right."

Thomas huffed again. "Well, now you have. So you can go now." 

"Do you have a fever, Thomas?" Kumu's worried voice broke in. A cool, gentle hand touched his forehead.

For goodness' sake, could they all just  _ leave him alone? _

He vaguely heard bits of the conversation going on around him, and then the door opened and closed and it was quiet. He risked peeking open one eye, and to his dismay, Rick and Jules both still stood in the room, exchanging glances with each other in what seemed to be some sort of silent conversation.

"Seriously, would you guys stop making a big deal out of nothing?" Thomas gathered whatever energy he had left and pushed himself to his feet, making his way over to the kitchen counter again in search of his water bottle. "I'm a little under the weather, okay? I'm not—" A sudden burst of nausea overwhelmed him, and he barely turned to the sink in time before the contents of his stomach made an unwelcome reappearance.

He felt a big hand gently placing itself on his back as he retched—a gesture that brought back a handful of memories along with it.

Rick waited patiently until Thomas's stomach decided it was done—for now—before speaking. "You all right, bud?" 

They both knew the obvious answer, but Thomas stubbornly refused to admit it out loud. Rick carefully helped the sick man move back over to the couch.

"Kumu and T.C. went to fetch some supplies," Higgins supplied, her voice unusually uncertain. She looked as if she was torn between wanting to step in and help and recognizing that Magnum did not appreciate the audience. "You must have caught the flu or something of the like." 

He waved her off. "I'm—"

"Don't you dare say you're fine. We can see otherwise. Honestly, Magnum, you are the most thick-headed man I know."

Rick grinned in agreement. 

Thomas rolled his eyes. He coughed and held his breath while waiting for the second bout of nausea to pass.

"Oh no—hey man, you gonna be sick again? Because if so, give me time to find you a bucket because I am not getting puked on."

Magnum threw a weak punch in the other man's direction. "Seriously, I just need to rest," he muttered. "I'll be good as new after I get some sleep."

"Thomas, you're trembling." Was that  _ concern  _ he heard in her voice?

_ Darn involuntary muscle spasms, _ Thomas grouched to himself. He  _ was  _ freezing, however. And considering it was Hawaii in the middle of the summer, that was probably not a good thing.

"Let's get you drugged up and in bed," Rick suggested, throwing a glance toward the window for any sign of T.C. and Kumu.

But Thomas waved him away. He was plenty comfortable on the couch. The bed was too far. "I'll be fine. Just let me sleep here—"

"Get yourself in bed, Magnum. Now. "You're no use to anyone half-dead." He could've sworn he heard Rick mutter, "He's no use to anyone even when he's not," but he didn't have the energy to manage an indignant, " _ Hey!"  _ so he let it go. And he didn't dare argue with Higgins, not when she was as fired up as he currently gauged. He grumbled under his breath but followed the orders, allowing Rick to lead him to his bedroom. He was thankful for the small favor of his stomach staying settled as he moved. Ugh, he  _ did  _ feel miserable.

He blocked out the whispers around him and tugged the comforter over his head, finally admitting defeat.  _ This is worse than the flu. This is like the Black Death! _

Well, at least he had friends who, however annoying and hovering they may be, cared enough to make sure he survived.

* * *

Thomas pretended not to notice how Higgins spent the next couple of days peddling around the guest house, claiming she had some touch-ups to do on the little garden out front. He didn't make any comments about how every time he woke up, his meds were set out on the nightstand along with some crackers or other plate of food. And he wasn't exactly surprised when T.C. and Rick showed up to watch the ball game with him on Sunday. 

"If I had known you guys were going to fall over yourselves to help me, I would've gotten sick a lot sooner," he croaked, his voice still slightly hoarse.

"Shut up, T.M.," Rick shot back, reclining in his seat with a bowl of popcorn. "You know we only came over because we had nothing better to do."

Magnum rolled his eyes and reached for the box of tissues sitting on the couch next to him. Being sick was not an experience he wanted to repeat anytime soon, but now that he was feeling a little better, he was secretly enjoying the extra attention and special treatment he was getting. (It proved Higgins didn't hate him quite as much as she pretended.)

He settled back on the sofa, content to drift off to sleep while T.C. and Rick joked with each other and the halftime show dragged on.


End file.
